Citation Generator: APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard
Enter the details of your source (book, journal article, website, or newspaper) and the generator outputs properly formatted citations in all four major academic styles simultaneously: APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, Chicago 17th edition, and Harvard. Copy any one to clipboard with a single click. Free, no signup, runs entirely in your browser.
APA
Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup. New York: Crown Business.
MLA
Ries, Eric. The Lean Startup. Crown Business, 2011.
CHICAGO
Ries, Eric. The Lean Startup. New York: Crown Business, 2011.
HARVARD
Ries, E. (2011) The Lean Startup, Crown Business, New York.
About academic citation
Why citations matter
Citations let readers find the sources you used. They give credit to other writers, demonstrate the breadth of your research, and protect you from accidental plagiarism. Every serious academic paper, journal article, and book uses a consistent citation style. Citation generators automate the formatting so you can focus on the writing itself.
The four major styles
APA (American Psychological Association) is dominant in psychology, education, sociology, and most social sciences. MLA (Modern Language Association) is the standard in English, literature, languages, and humanities. Chicago (Chicago Manual of Style) is preferred in history, music, and many humanities and social sciences disciplines. Harvard is widely used in the UK, Australia, and Commonwealth countries across many disciplines.
Author formatting per style
APA uses Last name, Initials for every author (Smith, J. K., & Jones, M. P.). MLA reverses only the first author (Smith, John K., and Mary P. Jones) and uses "et al." for groups of 4+ authors. Chicago is similar to MLA but more inclusive: lists up to 3 authors fully, then "et al.". Harvard mostly matches APA but uses slightly different punctuation in some places.
Date placement
APA puts the year in parentheses right after the author name: "Smith, J. (2023)." MLA places it later, near the publisher: "Smith, John. *Title*. Publisher, 2023." Chicago and Harvard differ in punctuation but generally place the year after the author or at the end. The generator handles each style's convention automatically.
Italics conventions
In APA and Harvard, book titles and journal names are italicized; article titles are not. In MLA and Chicago, book titles and journal names are italicized; article titles use quotation marks. Confusing italics and quotes is the most common citation mistake; the generator handles it correctly per style.
DOIs and URLs
Modern academic citation includes a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for journal articles when available. The DOI is a stable URL: doi.org/10.xxxx/yyyy. APA, Chicago, and Harvard prefer DOIs over publisher URLs. The generator formats them appropriately. For websites without DOIs, use the URL and include an access date for stability.
In-text citations vs reference list
Each style also has rules for in-text citations (the brief reference that appears in the body of your text, like "(Smith, 2023)" in APA or "(Smith 23)" in MLA). The generator focuses on the full reference list entry; check your style guide for matching in-text citation rules.
Common citation mistakes
Inconsistent punctuation (mixing comma and period styles). Forgetting the publisher city in APA book citations. Using URL instead of DOI for journal articles. Not italicizing journal names. Wrong author count for "et al." (different styles have different thresholds). The generator eliminates all of these by mechanically applying the official rules.
Plagiarism and citation
Even unintentional plagiarism (paraphrasing without attribution, reusing your own work without disclosure) can be serious in academic settings. Citing every source you draw from, including ideas you reworded, protects you. When in doubt, cite. The cost of an extra citation is low; the cost of unattributed reuse can be high.
APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, Chicago 17th edition (notes and bibliography style for the bibliography format shown), and Harvard. These four cover most university coursework, journals, and professional publications worldwide.
APA is most common in psychology, education, and social sciences. MLA is standard in humanities and literature. Chicago is used in history, music, and some social sciences (also fine arts). Harvard is widely used in the UK and Commonwealth countries across many disciplines. Each has small formatting differences in author order, punctuation, italics, and date placement.
Pick "Book" as the source type. Enter the authors, title, year of publication, city, and publisher. Optionally add the edition. The generator outputs the four standard formats. Books with multiple authors are handled automatically (first author last-name first, others first-name first for MLA; all initials-last-name for APA).
Pick "Journal article". Enter the authors, article title, year, journal name, volume, issue, and page numbers. Add a DOI if available; the generator formats it as a clickable URL. Journal article citations have small format differences (italics on journal name vs article title) which the generator handles per-style.
Pick "Website". Enter the authors (if known), title of the page, year of publication, website name, URL, and the date you accessed it. If the author is unknown, leave authors empty and the generator omits the field. Access date is recommended for websites because page content can change.
Pick "Newspaper article". Enter the authors, article title, year, newspaper name, optional page number, and optional URL. The format is similar to a journal article but with different italics conventions.
Click "+ Add author" for each one. The generator handles the formatting: APA uses last name plus initials for all authors with an ampersand before the last. MLA reverses the first author (Last, First) and lists others normally with "et al." after three authors. Chicago is similar to MLA but with "and" instead of "et al." for groups of 1-3 authors.
Leave them blank and the generator omits them. APA, for example, drops the "year" parenthesis if no year is given. For required fields (like the title), the citation will look incomplete until you fill them in. Some publications require specific minimums; check your assignment guidelines.
Italics in citation styles are represented by asterisks (*like this*) internally and rendered as italic text in the preview. When you copy, the asterisks are stripped so the plain text version pastes cleanly. If you paste into Word or Google Docs, you will need to apply italics to titles or journal names manually, since plain text loses formatting.
For an e-book, use the "Book" type and add edition info if relevant. For a PDF that exists only online, use the "Website" type and include the URL and access date. APA and MLA have slightly different conventions for digital sources; the generator follows the most common modern practice.
Not directly in this tool. Social media (Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram) has its own specific format in each style. For occasional social media citation, use the "Website" type and include all available metadata (username, post date, URL) in the relevant fields, then manually edit if needed.
They follow the official format of each style as of the most recent edition. Schools and journals sometimes have minor variations (specific publisher conventions, supplementary requirements). For high-stakes assignments, check your style guide and your instructor's expectations. The generator handles 95+ percent of common cases correctly.
Yes. Free, no signup, and runs entirely in your browser. Your source details never leave your device. The four citations update live as you type. Copy any one to clipboard with a single click.